Fishing lure

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to a fishing lure. The fishing lure has a weighted head adjacent the eye end of a fishhook with the eye protruding from the head. A tie wire is located in the head and is utilized to wrap a sheet of shredable rubber intermediate its ends about the shank of the hook adjacent the head. The tie wire is operatively associated with, and may also be interconnected with, the fishhook. The rubber is shredded at its ends to form a shredded hook skirt which covers and extends beyond the barb end of the hook and a neck skirt which projects outward from the point of wrap adjacent the molded head. The shreds have sufficient length and flexibility to reverse directions, so that those forming the neck skirt bend rearwardly toward the barb end of the fishhook as the lure is drawn through the water. A flexible tail may be added by impaling its lead end with the barb of the hook.

United States Patent [1 1 Begley Nov. 6, 1973 FISHING LURE [76] Inventor: Daniel P. Begley, 510 Willow St.,

Fresno, Calif.

22 Filed: July 6,1971

21 Appl. No.: 160,124

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 839,030, July 3, 1969, Pat. No.

[52] U.S. Cl. 43/4226 [51] Int. Cl. A0lk 85/00 {58] Field of Search 43/4225, 42.26,

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,994,151 8/1961 Webb 43/4237 X 2,111,020 3/1938 Arbogast. 43/4228 1,910,742 5/1933 Binns 43/4228 X 2,618,094 11/1952 Shindler.. 43/4253 X 1,949,582 3/1934 Pott 43/4225 3,344,549 10/1967 Peters et al. 43/4237 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 143,978 6/1920 Great Britain 43/4225 Primary ExaminerRussell R. Kinsey Assistant Examiner.lames H. Czerwonky Att0rneyVergil L. Gerard [57] ABSTRACT This disclosure relates to a fishing lure. The fishing lure has a weighted head adjacent the eye end of a fishhook with the eye protruding from the head. A tie wire is located in the head and is utilized to wrap a sheet of shredable rubber intermediate its ends about the shank of the hook adjacent the head. The tie wire is operatively associated with, and may also be interconnected Wl hz. the fi b oke mbberis whmddedat. .its..

to form a shredded hook skirt which covers and extends beyond the barb end of the hook and a neck skirt which projects outward from the point of wrap adjacent the molded head. The shreds have sufficient length and flexibility to reverse directions, so that those forming the neck skirt bend rearwardly toward the barb end of the fishhook as the lure is drawn through the water. A flexible tail may be added by impaling its lead end with the barb of the hook.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures FISHING LURE CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisional application of copending Ser. No. 839,030, filed July 3, 1969, now US. Pat. No. 3,590,514.

This invention relates generally to fishing lures and methods for making them, and more particularly to sinking, plug-type lures which appear animated'in use.

In the sport of fishing a constant effort is being made to develop lures which are more attractive to fish. In recent years with the availability of more versatile materials such as shredded rubber and plastics, lures have been developed which incorporate these materials in various manners.

Attempts have also been made in the lure art to develop lures which appear animated in use and are suited to particular types of fishing.

Because of the increased access of fishing areas to the public and the increasing popularity of the sport, the need for better lures is an ever increasing one.

It is, therefore, a major object of my invention to provide a sinking plug-type fishing lure which is more attractive to fish.

It is another object of my invention to provide a fishing lure of the type described which appears animated in the water, is easy to spot cast, and travels well near the bottom of a body of water.

It is a further object of my invention toprovide a fishing lure of the type described which has but one hook rigidly secured to the body and projecting upward therefrom in use, and is, therefore,'less likely to become entangled with debris, andwhen so entangled is easier to free.

It is still another object of my invention to provide a fishing lure of the type described which is durable, and sufficiently easyto make and use to permit its use by inexperienced fishermen.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide a method for'making a fishing lure of the type described which can be performed by hand or machine, utilizes inexpensive, readily available components, and permits substantial variations in the resulting lure.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of my fishing lure and method for making it when read together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. [is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of my fishing lure in the first step of making;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in the second step of making;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the fishing lure in its second step of making;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the fishing lure in its third step of making;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the fishing lure in its fourth step of making;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the completed 7 fishing lure; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a section of the material used to form the skirts on my'fishing lure.-

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates generally my fishing lure in the various steps of its making. As best shown in FIG. 1, the lure 10 is made by starting with a fishhook 12 having a barb end 13 connected by a shank 14 to a. tie eye 15. The shank l4 adjacent the eye 15 is bent to form a neck 16 which positions the eye substantially normal to the axis of the shank in the same direction and co-planer with a barb 17 on the barb end 1-3. l

A tie wire'l8 is secured at its proximal end 19 to the shank 14 adjacent the neck 16 by securing coils 20. The distal end 22 of the tie wire 18 extends rearward beyond the barb end 13 of the hook 12, parallel to and adjacent the shank 14.

After the tie wire 18 has been thus positioned and secured with respect to the fishhook 12, a weighted head 24 is molded about the shank 14 adjacent the neck 16 and encompassing the securing coils 20 of the tie wire 18. The eye 15 protrudes from the head 24, as best shown in FIG. 2. The head 24 is generally tier shaped in plan view, as shown in FIG. 3, and has a pair of symetrical buldges 26. at its forward end to simulate eyes. The head is formed of. a lead alloy, or other suitable material which is easy to mold and yet has sufficient strength after molding to hold its shape and sufficient weight toprovide the desired balance for the lure. In this preferred embodiment, the head weighs approximately /2 ounce and is used with a No. 2hook. The lure has an overall length of 1% inches from the front end of the head 24 to the rearwardmost portion of the barb end 13 and the head itself has a length of approximately Y4 of an inch. This relationship of weights and sizes is not a limiting feature of my invention, of course, but has been found to give proper balance to the fishing lure and is, therefore, recited to furtherv detail the innerrelationship of components.

When the'molding of the head 24 has been completed the head is painted some appropriate color (black in this preferred embodiment) and the buldges 26 are painted to simulate eyes (white in this preferred embodiment).

Next, a sheet 28 of shredable rubber or other suitably shreddable, flexible, and reasonably resilient material is disposed adjacent the shank l4 and formed into encircling relationship with the'shank l4 and the head 24 (see FIG. 4). In my preferred embodiment, the sheet 28 has an overall length of about 4% inches and is disposed with its forward end about /4inch ahead of the forward end of the head 24. The sheet 28"has a split 30 to permit the barb end 13of the fishhook 12'to protrude andhas a secondsplit 32 to permit the tie wire 18 to be pulled through the sheet for the purpose of securing the sheet to the shank 14. The sheet 28 is secured to the shank 14 by wrapping the distal end 22 of the tie wire 18 about the sheet and the shank 14 at the base of the head 24 to form wrap connection 34 (see FIG. 5). Any excess of the distal end 22 of the tie wire 18 not needed to form the wrap connection 34 is cut away after the wrap connection is formed to leave a smooth connection.

To complete the lure the forward portion of the sheet 28 is shredded to form a neck skirt 36 and the rearward portion of the sheet 28 is shredded to form hook skirt 38 (see FIG. 6).

If desired, a tail 40 may be added to the lure by cuttingaway the head portion of a synthetic night crawler lure, readily available on the market, to provide the tail with a front portion 42 and rear portion 44. The front portion 42 is then impaled by the hook 12 by inserting the barb 17 into the front portion 42 of the tail 40 and permitting the rear portion 44 to extend rearwardly of the lure in the manner shown in FIG. 6.

In FIG. 7 l have shown a partial cross section of the sheet 28 illustrating the serrations 48 which provide the sheet with a shredable quality.

In use, a fishing line 46 is secured to the tie eye' and the lure is spot casted to the desire location. As the lure sinks toward the bottom the drag of the line on the tie eye 15 positions the lure with the hook 12 directed upwardly as shown in FIG. 6. The lure is then retrieved and as it moves through the water the neck skirt 36 is folded back over the'wrap connection 34 in the manner shown in phantom, in FIG. 6. if the lure contacts the bottom during retrieving it is not likely to become en'- tangled with debris because of the position of the hook From this description it will be understood that the lure of my invention is a casting type lure particularly effective as a bass plug. Since the lure sinks, it is retrieved fairly rapidly in shallow water, more slowly in water of medium depth, and slowly with pauses in deep water. Drawing the lure through the water sweeps the neck skirt 36 backward, as previously explained, and exposes the head 24 to provide the lure with an appearance which experience has shown to be particularly attractive to fish. By varying the speed at which the lure is retrieved, considerable movement can be added to the neck skirt 36 and hook skirt 38 to provide a highly animated lure.

From this detail description of my lure and the method of making it, it will be understood that the lure attains the objects and provides the advantages heretofore attributed to it. Particularly, the lure is easy and inexpensive to make'by reason of the commercial availability of all components except the head 24. It is also durable, easy to use and quite susceptible to variations in appearance. Although in my preferred embodiment the head is tear shaped and painted black with white eyes, different shapes and colors may easily be used. Also, the color of the sheet 28 used to make the neck skirt and hook skirt can be varied, as can the lengths and shapes of the skirts and the option of attaching the tail 40, or other suitable attachments in varied colors. it is also possible, of course, to add components with luminescent colors orlight reflecting surfaces to produce a flashing effect.

I claim:

1. A fishing lure comprising:

a fishhook having a forward connecting end and a rearward barb end interconnected by a shank; line connecting means, interconnected with said forward connecting end of said fishhook;

a weight mounted on said shank adjacent said connecting end of said fishhook;

securing means ope'ratively associated with said fishhook at a securing point intermediate the ends I thereofrand, e I r elongated shreds of flexible material axially surrounding said fishhook and secured to said fishhook at said securing point by said securing means, said shreds having first ends extending conically outwardly and forwardly from said securing point to envelop said weight and connecting end, and being of sufficient length and flexibility to reverse directions and bend rearwardly toward the barb end of said fishhook when said lure is drawn through the water by a line connected to said line connecting means.

I 2. A fishing lure as described in claim 1 in which:

said securing point is on said shank just rearward of said weight; and

said securing means secures said shreds to said shank of said fishhook by snugly encircling said shreds at said securing point and includes a tie-wire having one end directly connected to said fishhook shank.

3. A fishing lure as described in claim 1 in which:

said elongated shreds further include second ends extending conically outwardly and rearwardly from said securing point to envelop said barb end.

4. A fishing lure comprising:

a fishhook having a forward connecting end and a rearward barb end interconnected by a shank;

line connecting means interconnected with said forward connecting end of said fishhook, including a hookeye angularly disposed-with respect to said shank in the same plane as the barb end of said fishhook;

a head-shaped weight mounted on said shank .adjacent said connecting end of said fishhook,-said weight being so shaped that said hookeye projects from the mouth portion thereof;

securing means interconnected with said fishhook at a securing point adjacent the rear portion of said weight; and

elongated shreds of flexible material axially surrounding said fishhook and secured to said fishhook at said securing point by said securing means, said shreds having first ends extending conically outwardly and forwardly from said securing point to envelop said weight and connecting end, and being of sufficient length and flexibility to reverse directions and bend rearwardlytoward the barb end of said fishhook when said lure is drawn through the water by a line connected to said line connecting means.

5. A fishing lure as described in claim 4 in which:

said elongated shreds further include second ends extending conically outwardly and rearwardly from said securing point to envelop said barb end.

6. A fishing lure as described in claim 5 in which:

said securing means includes a tie-wire having a proximal end embedded in said weight and a distal end extending therefrom and wrapped about said shank at said securing point to form an anulus having a bore diameter sufficiently larger than said shank to pass said elongated shredsof flexible material therebetween. 

1. A fishing lure comprising: a fishhook having a forward connecting end and a rearward barb end interconnected by a shank; line connecting means, interconnected with said forward connecting end of said fishhook; a weight mounted on said shank adjacent said connecting end of said fishhook; securing means operatively associated with said fishhook at a securing point intermediate the ends thereof; and elongated shreds of flexible material axially surrounding said fishhook and secured to said fishhook at said securing point by said securing means, said shreds having first ends extending conically outwardly and forwardly from said securing point to envelop said weight and connecting end, and being of sufficient length and flexibility to reverse directions and bend rearwardly toward the barb end of said fishhook when said lure is drawn through the water by a line connected to said line connecting means.
 2. A fishing lure as described in claim 1 in which: said securing point is on said shank just rearward of said weight; and said securing means secures said shreds to said shank of said fishhook by snugly encircling said shreds at said securing point and includes a tie-wire having one end directly connected to said fishhook shank.
 3. A fishing lure as described in claim 1 in which: said elongated shreds further include second ends extending conically outwardly and rearwardly from said securing point to envelop said Barb end.
 4. A fishing lure comprising: a fishhook having a forward connecting end and a rearward barb end interconnected by a shank; line connecting means interconnected with said forward connecting end of said fishhook, including a hookeye angularly disposed with respect to said shank in the same plane as the barb end of said fishhook; a head-shaped weight mounted on said shank adjacent said connecting end of said fishhook, said weight being so shaped that said hookeye projects from the mouth portion thereof; securing means interconnected with said fishhook at a securing point adjacent the rear portion of said weight; and elongated shreds of flexible material axially surrounding said fishhook and secured to said fishhook at said securing point by said securing means, said shreds having first ends extending conically outwardly and forwardly from said securing point to envelop said weight and connecting end, and being of sufficient length and flexibility to reverse directions and bend rearwardly toward the barb end of said fishhook when said lure is drawn through the water by a line connected to said line connecting means.
 5. A fishing lure as described in claim 4 in which: said elongated shreds further include second ends extending conically outwardly and rearwardly from said securing point to envelop said barb end.
 6. A fishing lure as described in claim 5 in which: said securing means includes a tie-wire having a proximal end embedded in said weight and a distal end extending therefrom and wrapped about said shank at said securing point to form an anulus having a bore diameter sufficiently larger than said shank to pass said elongated shreds of flexible material therebetween. 